ERIC ED471538: Building Institutional Capacity at Rural Community Colleges through Consortia.

16 Pages·2002·0.22 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 471 538
JC 030 051
Pennington, Kevin; Williams, Mitchell R.
AUTHOR
Building Institutional Capacity at Rural Community Colleges
TITLE
through Consortia.
2002-00-00
PUB DATE
NOTE
12p.
PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070)
Reports
Descriptive (141)
EDRS PRICE
EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS
*Community Colleges; Community Development; *Consortia;
Cooperative Planning; Economic Change; Economic Development;
Economic Impact; Economic Progress; *Institutional
Cooperation; *Intercollegiate Cooperation; *Rural
Development; *Rural Education; Rural Environment; Two Year
Colleges
ABSTRACT
According to this paper, rural community colleges face new
challenges, which require openness to institutional partnerships that in the
past may have been unthinkable due to traditional institutional
competitiveness. These challenges include enrollment fluctuation, increased
legislative scrutiny, calls for accountability, inadequate and inconsistent
funding, and higher education's general loss of public esteem. The authors
argue that institutional collaboration is practical for rural community
colleges for four reasons:
(1) the politics of educational reform has created
the need for meaningful collaborative efforts between community colleges;
(2)
the transformation of the economy from technology-based to information-based
has increased awareness of institutional interdependence;
(3) struggling
rural community colleges can gain insight from their sister institutions; and
(4) as demands for accountability increase, collaborations can provide
avenues to lower costs while sustaining availability, quality, and integrity
of programming and services at rural community colleges. This paper defines
an educational consortium as an alliance whose purpose is to serve their
member institutions, with the mission of enabling its members to achieve,
through cooperation, that which cannot be achieved alone. Rural community
colleges in particular can benefit from academic consortia by giving the
institutions more clout with local, state, and federal politicians; making
business and industry alliances stronger; and increasing funding and grant
opportunities. (Contains 11 referenceS.) (Author/NB)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
Building Institutional Capacity at Rural Community Colleges Through Consortia
Kevin Pennington
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Associate Professor
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Western Carolina University
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TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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Mitchell R. Williams
Minor changes have been made to
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Director of Leadership Programs
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University of North Carolina at Asheville
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Community colleges in the United States take pride in being independent and
autonomous institutions. Two-year colleges have prospered because they are willing to
face tough political issues and compete successfully for diminishing economic resources.
Rural community colleges in particular need leaders with truly innovative thinking who
will reach creative answers to the complex challenges they currently face. Part of this
innovative judgment has involved relationships with other institutions in their
communities: businesses, local school districts, social agencies, and community-based
institutions (McGrath, 1998). Today, however, rural community colleges face new
challenges which require openness to interinstitutional partnerships that in the past may
have been unthinkable due to traditional institutional competitiveness. These challenges
include enrollment fluctuations, increased legislative scrutiny, calls for accountability,
inadequate and inconsistent funding, and higher education's general loss of public
esteem. This article suggests that building institutional capacity through collaboration
and institutional consortia among rural community colleges may be in the best interest of
all institutions involved.
Given the strong tradition of rivalry and autonomy in higher education, is
collaboration practical for rural community colleges? For at least four basic reasons, the
reforM
answer to this question must be a resounding yes. First, the politics of educational
has created the need for meaningful collaborative efforts between community colleges.
Second, the transformation of our nation's economy from an industrial base to an
economy based on information processing, technology, and service has increased the
consciousness of rural educational leaders, political leaders, and the public regarding
institutional interdependence. Third, rural community colleges struggling with common
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challenges can gain insights to potentially successful innovations from their sister
institutions. Finally, as demands for accountability have increased, collaborations can
provide avenues to lower costs while sustaining the availability, quality, and integrity of
programming and services at rural community colleges.
What is an educational consortium?
A consortium may be an alliance of people, groups, or organizations that have
joined together to offer practical solutions to the common problems and the challenges
faced by the rural community college. Neal (1988) referred to consortia as semi-
permanent organizations typically supported by financial contributions from members,
with a mission of facilitating cooperative activities between and among member
institutions. According to Lewis Patterson, academic consortia share several distinctive
characteristics; they are usually: voluntary, multi-institutional, multifunctional,
beneficiaries of long-term member support, and managed by professional staff members
(as cited in Baus & Ramsbottom, 1999, p. 4).
Each consortium is unique, but the broad goals of almost every consortium are to
"achieve more, do something better, or reduce the cost of an activity" (Neal, 1988, p.3).
Academic consortia exist to serve their member institutions, and the mission of a
consortium is typically to enable its members to achieve, through cooperation, that which
cannot be achieved alone (Baus & Ramsbottom, 1999). While every member institution
has different needs, each expects to get something of value for its participation in the
collaboration.
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Baus (1988) provided four principles of consortia that described why institutions
of higher education might participate in a consortium:
The "primary motivation for institutional cooperation is self-interest" (p. 26), and
1.
institutions usually seek collaboration from a position of strength.
While the basis of consortium activity is consensus formation, it is usually cost
2.
savings or political factors that stimulate individual institutions to action.
Consortia usually have no independent mission but are successful only to the
3.
extent they enhance the mission, programs, and services of their constituent
members or help solve their problems.
The effectiveness of any consortium ultimately depends on each member
4.
recognizing and accepting its limitations as an individual institution and each
member seeing the value in exceeding those limits by entering into partnerships.
Benefits of participating in a rural community college consortium
Consortia are among the best vehicles available to rural community colleges to
meet the challenges currently placed before them. The following list contains several
benefits of entering into collaborative initiatives (Baus & Ramsbottom, 1999; McGrath
1998; Williams & Pennington, 2002):
The ability to attract a larger number of people and perspectives into the problem
1.
solving process.
Higher quality solutions are possible.
2.
3. Each stakeholder is ensured a voice and all parties are more likely to retain
ownership of the solution.
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General relationships between stakeholders are likely to improve, and
4.
coordination of future actions becomes more likely.
5. Member institutions may be able to leverage their limited assets while seeking
grants and other funding opportunities.
There are enhanced opportunities
for expanded professional development
6.
activities.
Cost savings may be available through joint purchases and sharing equipment and
7.
facilities.
The political clout of small rural institutions can be greatly increased.
8.
How a rural consortium can work
The role of the community college is to help prepare all citizens for a better life,
but the task of preparing students to live and work in a rapidly evolving technological
society is multifaceted and expensive. When institutions and entities want to achieve a
challenging goal, they often band together to strengthen their position and increase their
chances of achieving the goal; consortia appear to provide an opportunity for community
colleges to maintain their place in the higher education community (McGrath, 1998;
Smith, Opp, Armstrong, Stewart, & Isaacson, 1999).
The advantages of collaboration were highlighted by Pennington and Williams
(2001) through the example of the community college's role in preparing people for a
rapidly changing workforce in an information-based economy. The explosion of
information technology has increased pressures on community colleges not only to be
more competitive in development of institutional programs and services but also to be
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more efficient in the delivery of those programs and services. Institutions working
independently are often unable to afford new or updated technology in a timely manner.
Further, they find it difficult to establish new programs based on expensive technology.
How can a consortium help individual institutions deal with this situation? First, a well-
publicized consortium gives the participating institutions more clout with local, state and
federal politicians. Further, a consortium can effectively approach business and industry
associated with information technology through a greater depth and breadth of
perspective in order to explain the needs, concerns and abilities of the community
colleges. This combination of increased political influence and a broader understanding
of the potential of the community college can be transformed into funding and grant
opportunities for the consortium and its member institutions to build needed
infrastructure for the desired technology.
Additionally, rural community colleges can often find benefits in creating
partnerships involving four-year institutions as well as other community colleges. These
inter-sector collaborations may involve academic agreements and articulation (May &
Smith, 1992), shared services (e.g., purchasing), equipment and facilities (Dorger, 1999;
Pennington & Williams, 2001), professional development initiatives (Williams &
Pennington, 2002), distance education programs, and economic development projects
(McGrath, 1998) and community development activities (Williams, 2002).
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Sustaining a rural community college consortium
By forming strategic alliances, rural community colleges can bring their programs
and services to new levels. Once rural community college consortia are established,
several conditions can help to keep the viability of the partnership intact.
A clear vision for the consortium, including clearly defined goals, a focus on real
problems, and a realistic assessment of what each institution is seeking to gain
from participation (Baus & Ramsbottom, 1999).
Successful rural community college consortia must have a clear and agreed upon
sense of mission and purpose, often found in a written mission statement.
Effective communication across the consortium is important, but efficient
communication within each participating member of the consortium is essential
for success.
Presidential and other senior-level administrative involvement in the consortium
gives the effort credibility and ensures the organization keeps focused on
strategically important issues.
Staff administering the consortia should serve as "a source of institutional
memory" (Baus and Ramsbottom, 1999, p. 16) and provide continuity to the
effort by orienting new representatives from member institutions.
Participation in a rural community college consortium should "increase each
institution's capability to respond to community development needs" (Williams,
2002, p. 34).
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Barriers to consortial success
Creating consortial relationships between rural community colleges is a difficult
process. Sustaining an existing consortium even more challenging for the people
maintaining the relationship. The following list of "lacks" and "fears" faced by
consortium members is compiled from the works of Dorger (1999) and Johnson (1988).
Lack of a clear understanding of the consortium's mission, purpose, and goals
1.
especially among top administrators of member institutions.
Lack of a realistic assessment of what the member institutions hope to gain from
2.
participation in the consortium.
Lack of effective communication both within the consortium and with individual
3.
member institutions.
Lack of support/commitment from senior-level administrators from each
4.
institution participating in the consortium.
Lack of opportunity for faculty participation in the consortium.
5.
Fear that money and time could be wasted by participation in the consortium.
6.
Fear of restrictive and convoluted decision-making processes hampering true
7.
collaboration.
Fear that collaboration is a zero sum process in which some institutions must
8.
"lose" for others to "win".
Fear of being forced to cooperate in areas that should remain "competitive" such
9.
as admissions or fund-raising.
10. Fear of pressure to participate in weak and unnecessary programming.
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Conclusion
Rural community colleges, perhaps even more than their urban and suburban
counterparts, face a myriad of challenges and are looked upon to provide a variety of
academic, economic development, and community enhancement services. These
institutions are seen as a natural source of leadership in rural initiatives. Rural areas often
lag behind suburban and urban communities in terms of economic prosperity and
educational achievement, and the ability to resolve rural problems often goes beyond the
capacity of any single institution. By establishing working relationships with other
institutions of higher education, the rural community college can become even more
effective in meeting the unique needs of rural areas.
Obviously, consortia are not a universal remedy for all of the challenges facing
rural community colleges. Indeed, consortia have not begun to meet their full potential in
providing rural community colleges with long-term solutions to the challenges and
hardships that could threaten their very existence. Based on current political, economic,
and institutional concerns, it seems likely that interinstitutional consortia will continue to
play an ever-increasing role in the future of rural community colleges.